Dear Diary,
Today we have reached the west and have found a nice piece of land to build a house on and plant crops. Getting here was tough but Papa says it was all worth it. Out here on the plains their are rarely any trees so we have to start working on collection grass and roots to build a soddie out of. Building the house will take a while but it will keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There are a ton of bugs out here and most will try and destroy our crops, so we wil have to try and keep them away. Once we get the soddie built my brothers will help Papa plow the fields and plant crops. My mother and I will build a chicken coop for the chickens, milk the cows, spin wool to sell and help school my younger siblings. Early last night there was a dust storm but luckily it wasn't the worst one I have ever seen. Mosquitoes have been biting me all day and they are soon to get worse. My siblings and I have to start collecting wood for fuel and cooking. I being the oldest of the kids will have to get a job soon to help support my family. Today we are going to meet our closest neighbor and to ask them if they will help us raise a barn for our animals. During the winter Papa will have to get a construction job, so he can keep supporting his family. We asked around if there had been many Native American attacks around here, and most people said there hadn't been. On our journey here the wagon in front of us had been attacked while we had been sleeping. Luckily no one in my family had been hurt. Out here on the plains we don't get very much to eat, so for the next few days we will probably be eating beans. Once the crops have started growing we will have more variety of food. Hopefully life will not always be so hard on the plains, but for now I have to get to work.
-Leslie Edens
Today we have reached the west and have found a nice piece of land to build a house on and plant crops. Getting here was tough but Papa says it was all worth it. Out here on the plains their are rarely any trees so we have to start working on collection grass and roots to build a soddie out of. Building the house will take a while but it will keep us cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There are a ton of bugs out here and most will try and destroy our crops, so we wil have to try and keep them away. Once we get the soddie built my brothers will help Papa plow the fields and plant crops. My mother and I will build a chicken coop for the chickens, milk the cows, spin wool to sell and help school my younger siblings. Early last night there was a dust storm but luckily it wasn't the worst one I have ever seen. Mosquitoes have been biting me all day and they are soon to get worse. My siblings and I have to start collecting wood for fuel and cooking. I being the oldest of the kids will have to get a job soon to help support my family. Today we are going to meet our closest neighbor and to ask them if they will help us raise a barn for our animals. During the winter Papa will have to get a construction job, so he can keep supporting his family. We asked around if there had been many Native American attacks around here, and most people said there hadn't been. On our journey here the wagon in front of us had been attacked while we had been sleeping. Luckily no one in my family had been hurt. Out here on the plains we don't get very much to eat, so for the next few days we will probably be eating beans. Once the crops have started growing we will have more variety of food. Hopefully life will not always be so hard on the plains, but for now I have to get to work.
-Leslie Edens